Scouts' Day

Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement

Scouts' Day or Guides' Day is a generic term for special days observed by members of the Scouting movement throughout the year. Some of these days have religious significance, while others may be a simple celebration of Scouting. Typically, it is a day when all members of Scouting will re-affirm the Scout Promise.

Founders' Days

Worldwide in nearly all Scout associations, Founders' Day is celebrated on 22 February, the birthday of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (born in 1857), the founder of Scouting, and coincidentally also of his wife Olave Baden-Powell (born in 1889).

Individual associations also celebrate their own founding on other dates, although these are generally restricted to "major" anniversaries, such as a decennial. Girl Scouts of the USA celebrate Founders Day on 31 October, the birthday of Juliette Low.

World Thinking Day

Thinking Day is celebrated on 22 February. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) chose the date as it was the birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Robert Baden-Powell and of Olave Baden-Powell. It is thus celebrated by Girl Guides and Girl Scouts associations. SAGNOs (those associations which are part simultaneously of WAGGGS and WOSM) usually take part in it. It is also celebrated by some boy-oriented scout associations belonging to WOSM (i.e. Greece, where it is called Imera Skepseos),

Saint George's Day

Portuguese Scout postcard casting Scout as modern-day St. George slaying the dragon

Saint George is the patron saint of Scouting. The nearest Sunday to 23 April is observed as a celebration in some countries, for example, the United Kingdom and Spain.

In the UK many Scouting Districts celebrate the day with a parade of the groups and sections to a church or other suitable venue, often outdoors, where a service is held where the Scout sections all re-affirm their Scout Promises.

However, it is becoming more difficult to encourage participation by the youth membership, so many Districts forego the parade and church service in place of a more family oriented day. The focus of the day is still the affirmation of the Promise by all members.

Windsor and Queen Scouts Each St. George's Day is also marked by a service in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, which is open to all recipients of the Queen's Scout Award in the previous year.

Scout Sunday, Scout Jumuah, and Scout Sabbath (Boy Scouts of America)

Scouts on Scout Sunday in Philadelphia, 1949

The Boy Scouts of America have designated the Sunday preceding 8 February, or 8 February if it is a Sunday, as Scout Sunday, the following Friday as Scout Jumuah, and the following Saturday is designated as Scout Sabbath. The United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) celebrate Scout Sunday on the second Sunday of February as not to conflict with their Transfiguration Sunday.

The day is meant to mark the founding of the Scouts in the United States. Observation varies by unit and locale. Scouts go to their places of worship in uniform and help with the service.

In the United States, Scouting has been used by churches, temples, synagogues, and many other religious organizations as part of their youth ministries. Approximately 50 percent of all Scouting units are chartered to religious groups. These observances offer an opportunity for congregations to honor Scouts and Scouters, as well as to learn more themselves about the value of Scouting as a youth program.[1]

Girl Scout Week (Girl Scouts of the USA)

In the Girl Scouts of the USA, the equivalent holiday is Girl Scout Sunday or Girl Scout Sabbath, celebrated in Girl Scout Week the week that includes 12 March, the day the first Girl Scout troop was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia in 1912.[2]

Scout-Guide Week (Canada)

In Canada both the Guides and the Scouts celebrate Scout-Guide Week which is the week (Sunday-Sunday) in which 22 February falls (not including the first Sunday). It is often used to have joint events between the two groups.[3]

Africa Scout Day

Africa Scout Day is a day of celebration for Scouts in Africa and is held annually on 13 March. At the 62nd ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the then OAU, (currently African Union) in Addis Ababa in 1995, a resolution was passed that Scouting in Africa must be recognized and as such 13 March would be celebrated as Africa Scout Day.[4]

World Scout Scarf Day

World Scout Scarf Day is an effort to encourage active and former Scouts worldwide to wear their neckerchiefs in public annually on 1 August as a symbol of the Scout promise and the spirit of Scouting. It has been promoted on Facebook [5] and by Scouting organisations since 2007. The date of the event commemorates the first Scout Camp on Brownsea Island in 1907.[6]

Scout Service and Public Relationship Week (Sri Lanka)

Scout Service and Public Relationship Week is held annually on June–July. Scouts will call on the public during this week in uniform. The event began with the participation of Scouts from all 37 districts simultaneously numbering approximately 40,000 between the ages of 7 and 18. A Patrol consisting of four Scouts or more in uniform will carry an official card given by Sri Lanka Scout Association for public contributions. Scouts find money for their Scout Group through the Service and Relationship week each year. They go to houses and work places and help their owners with small work they can do. People give them work and then give some amount of money for their effort. The association requests the public to contribute to them generously as this is the main fund raising project for them.

Dates celebrated by country

Date English name Location/local name Remarks
1 January Scouts' Day Burma
22 February Thinking Day worldwide (Guides) Marks shared birthday of Scouting's founders
22 February Founder's Day worldwide (Scouts) Marks shared birthday of Scouting's founders
5 March Scouts' Day Republic of China (Taiwan)
12 March Girl Scout Birthday United States Marks founding of first Girl Scout troop in the USA
18 April Scouts' Day Armenia Social and Scouting work take place in one of the central parks of Yerevan[7]
19 April Guides' Day Georgia anniversary of the first national Girl Guide conference in 1997
19 April Scouts' Day Azerbaijan [7]/regional_and_national_events_of_eurasia_region
23 April St. George's Day United Kingdom Parade of Queen's Scouts at Windsor Castle
23 April St. George's Day Denmark Parade submitting Scout's promise
23 April Scouts' Day Mexico
24 April St. George's DayCzech Republic celebrated on April 24 because April 23 is the feast of Czech national saint Adalbert of Prague
19 May Scouts' Day Croatia first training in 1950
22 May Girl Scout Day Japan
30 May National Scout Day Maldives Scouting began in First Male' Scout Group, Majeediyya School
31 May Vietnamese Scouting Day Vietnam
late May Scout Movement Week[8] Liberia In 2009 was 25–30 May
1 July Scouts' Day Thailand Scouts pay homage to King Rama VI, and take part in parades
3 July Scouts' Day Nepal 2009 was 57th Scout Day
1 August World Scout Scarf Day worldwide (Scouts & Guides) Many people followed the call and thus made the spirit of scouting visible
1 August World Scout Day Australia Day that Scouts Australia announce and celebrate Adult Recognition Awards for the year nationwide
14 August Pramuka Day Indonesia Honors the national scouts of Indonesia (Pramuka) first public parade in 1961
5 September Scout and Good Action Day Argentina Celebrates the scout and good act day doing charity work, donations and personal good action.
October Scouting Month Philippines The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was chartered by Congress on 31 October 1936.
variable Girl Guides Day Brunei First was 6 October 1985, chosen to be near their royal patron's birthday[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Scout Sabbath". Boy Scouts of America. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008.
  2. ↑ "Girl Scout Days". GSUSA. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
  3. ↑ "Canadian Events". Scouts Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  4. ↑ "GSA celebrate Africa Scout Day in Kumasi". The Ghanaian Journal. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  5. ↑ "World Scout Scarf Day". Facebook. 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  6. ↑ http://www.scoutscarfday.com/
  7. 1 2 "Events". World Organization of the Scout Movement. Archived from the original on 25 December 2010.
  8. ↑ "Liberia observes scout movement week". Liberian Broadcasting System Online. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009. Archived 14 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ Awang, Nela; Finaz Daniel (12 November 2007). "Her Majesty graces Girl Guides Day ceremony". The Brunei Times. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
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